Alaskan Fantasy

“There’s a tiny switch on the piece that fits in the ear, but since we’ve got these things, we might as well use them.”

“Feels funny having a woman in my head.”

Kat chuckled. “No funnier than having a man in mine.”

“Just to set the record straight, I don’t need your protection for this race. If anything, I’m out here as your protection.”

“Sure, whatever you say.” Most men resisted having a woman provide protection of any kind—as if they conceded to being less of a man if they had a woman running interference.

“We don’t know that the accident was anything more than a onetime deal,” Sam continued.

“No, we don’t,” she answered smoothly, but Kat knew better. After inspecting the sled herself, she knew the damage had been deliberate. Question was, whose sled had the saboteur intended?

Sam sighed softly in her ear. “I don’t know about you, but I’m out here to win this race.”

Kat smiled behind the heavy wool neck scarf. “Sure you are. Like all the other sixty-six entrants and me.”

“That’s right.” He paused. “So look out, it won’t be long before you’re eating my dust.”

“Snow.” Kat couldn’t help correcting him. He needed it. The man was too independent. A lot like Marty. Determined to make it on his own and damn anyone who got in the way. That was one of the characteristics Kat had loved about Marty.

“Snow?”

“Eating my snow. We hope there’s not much dust at this time of year.”

Sam laughed in her ear, the sound warming Kat from the inside out. “Are you always this disagreeable?”

“Only when I’m confronted by a disagreeable man.”

“Point taken,” he conceded.

“I thought you didn’t like talking into these things.”

“I don’t.”

“Then shut up and get moving.”

His gentle snort was the last sound he made for a while.

When Kat realized she was still grinning, her lips turned downward. Where had that lighthearted feeling come from? And had she just been flirting with the man?

Sam was all right. For a transplant from Virginia, he seemed to understand the nature, care and feeding of the animals. And the dogs liked him.

Even Loki treated him like a member of the pack and Loki was a better judge of human character than most people. If Loki liked you, most likely, you were a good person. Not that Kat formed her impressions of strangers on the recommendation of a dog. Sam might have proven himself in the kennels, but would he have the stamina and drive to complete the eleven-hundred-mile race?

No matter whether he did or not, Kat planned to. Not so much to win as to prove to herself she still had it in her. She might have left Alaska for a few years, but the blood running through her veins was still ninety percent melted tundra snow.

Over the next hour of silence, the only sounds coming over the radio were the occasional commands Sam gave his team.

As she neared a good resting point, Kat asked, “Where are you?”

“Passed the Nome sign a few miles back.”

The famous Nome sign indicated only another one thousand forty-nine miles to go to the finish line. Kat’s breath always caught in her throat when her sled moved past the sign. Knowing she had so many more miles to go could be overwhelming, but not insurmountable. “You should be nearing Fish Creek. Watch out for the fifty-foot drop into the ravine. I almost spilled there. How are you holding up?” She didn’t know Sam or his abilities as a musher. He appeared to be in good condition and probably was from all the tromping around retrieving soil and mineral samples or whatever he did as a geologist.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m the one who’s been training for this event.”

She chuckled. “Think I’m not up to it?”

He paused before answering. “If the snowshoe fits…”

“I have to admit, the cold is a little more than I’m used to, but I’ll be fine after a couple days.” Physically, she’d never been in better shape. After Marty’s death, she’d poured herself into exercise and fitness. If not for any other reason than to eat up time between missions.

Lonely, empty time.

When friends, like Tazer, tried to include her in outings, trips or movies, she’d declined, retreating into her own world, preferring to handle her loss alone.

Kat removed one gloved hand from the handlebar and flexed her fingers. She’d been on the trail for four hours, the dogs were still full of energy and running, but they needed regular rest stops and snacks to keep up the pace.

Crisscrossed by snowmobile tracks, the trail opened onto a wide frozen swamp packed down by hundreds more snowmobile tracks. With trees bordering the swamp, this was where she usually made her first stop to rest the dogs. The copse of trees ahead and to the right would provide a good windbreak for her and the huskies. If Sam was making good time, he should catch up soon. She could get her cooker going and snack the dogs in that time.

“Gee!” Kat shouted the command, her voice carrying easily through the silence to her lead dogs.

Loki and Eli pulled to the right, the rest of the team falling in line.

As the dogs entered the stand of trees, Kat eased onto the foot brake and set out the snow hook, slowing the animals to a stop. Loki and Eli flopped to the ground, alert but relaxed with their heads on their paws. Some of the younger dogs danced around on their necklines before settling in for a rest.

After checking the feet, booties and general condition of the line of dogs, Kat fired up the portable cooker. Before long she had snow melting for the dog food and water boiling for coffee.

The dogs heard the arrival of another team before Kat could see them. They appeared from around a curve in the trail, tiny, dark dots in the white of the snow, growing larger as they neared.

The dogs slid in beside hers and stopped with a lot of tail wagging, happy yips of greeting and sniffing.

Kat handed Sam a canteen cup of coffee and turned to his sled and dogs. “Any problems?”

With Sam on one side and Kat on the other side of the team, they walked the line of dogs, checking feet, wrists and shoulders. All appeared in good shape.

After the dogs were fed and taken care of, Sam gave Kat a narrow-eyed look. “Look, if you’re slowing up for me, forget it. I’m here to race. I’ll leave you so far behind you won’t catch up.” His gray-green eyes flashed in the late-afternoon sun.

She tipped her head to the side. “Is that a challenge?”

“You bet.”

“You’re on.” She tossed the remains of her canteen cup into the snow, and stowed the metal cooker and feeding dishes before climbing on the back of her sled.

The sound of a snowmobile alerted her that they were no longer alone. The trail was not exclusive to the sled teams. Occasional snowmobiles were encountered, especially early on in the race when they hadn’t completely left civilization behind. Kat only gave it minor consideration. She pulled up the snow hook and had sucked in a lungful of air to shout to her team, when a shot rang out.

Sam’s cap flew from his head. “What the hell?”